"I do not understand how it happened," Djaq told Robin that evening, examining his injuries. "You have nearly healed, much sooner than I expected."

"Thank you for all your care," Robin said to her. "So this means I won't have to wear bandages."

"If you are careful." Realizing the improbability of that, she amended, "On second thought, I believe-"

"No more bandages then," Robin decided.

Djaq threw up her hands, knowing it was useless to argue. "I still cannot understand," she continued, her physician's curiosity awakened. "Perhaps your heart pounding, rushing blood through you, and your mind and spirit filled with euphoria...I do not know."

Robin knew she was thinking medically about the possible effects of what she had seen him doing earlier that day. "You're describing love," he told her. "It must be true what they say. Love is the best medicine."

"They say laughter," Djaq corrected him. "I know nothing of love."

Robin knew better. Her feelings for Will, and Will's for her, were clear. But he respected her right to hide those feelings. "Right then, lads," he said, calling his gang to surround him. "Djaq has declared me well, and so..."

"Not completely," Djaq warned.

"Business tomorrow, as usual?" Will asked, hopefully.

Robin grinned, then grabbed Marian around her waist, lifting her feet off the ground and spinning her around and around.

"You should be careful," Djaq warned.

"I should," he agreed, enjoying Marian's delight. "But where would be the fun in that?"

...

Later that night, in his bedchamber in Locksley Manor, Guy of Gisbourne ordered two of his guard, "Bring me a servant."

"Any particular one, Sir Guy?"

"Brown hair. Comely. Young."

"Very good, Sir Guy."

They returned shortly with a frightened young woman Guy had deflowered in the past. "What position do you hold here?" he asked her, while guards held her by her arms.

"Laundress, sir," she answered, meekly.

"Then you can launder these bed linens tomorrow."

She breathed a sigh of relief, believing he wanted her for nothing else. "Very good, Sir Guy."

"Throw her on the bed," Guy ordered his men. "Face down."

The laundress struggled, and Guy strode threateningly toward her. Holding his small, curved dagger between his fingers, he held it to her face, sneering, "You can make this simple, or you can make this difficult. You decide."

She swallowed, trembling, but stopped her struggle.

When he had finished with her, she rose meekly from the bed and walked painfully to the door. "May I go now, Sir Guy?"

"Go," he told her. "No, wait." His curiosity about Robin Hood bordered on obsession. "How long have you worked here?"

She blinked her eyes, not knowing the answer.

"Stupid, too, I see," Guy sneered. "Answer me this then, if you can. How old are you?"

"Twenty-one, sir."

"And how old were you when you first came here?"

"To the manor...fifteen. But I always lived in the village, sir."

Guy performed a quick calculation. Seven years in the manor... Locksley had returned one year ago after a five year absence...that meant she had worked for him one year. "What sort of a master was Hood?"

"Master Robin?" Despite her trauma, she smiled weakly. "He were a kind, respectful gentleman, always. He called us by name, and were interested in our families and all their needs. He were cheerful and friendly, and always proper. He made sure we weren't worked too hard, and hosted feasts for the entire village. Seems he was always finding something to celebrate."

"And now he's an outlaw, living in the forest," Gisbourne reminded her. "Tell me, he comes here, doesn't he, when I'm away at the castle?"

"No, sir."

"Don't lie to me!" Guy shouted.

She began trembling again in fear. "Not to his house, sir. You have it too heavily guarded."

"His house?"

"Yours, Sir Guy," she corrected.

"But he visits the village."

She nodded her head.

"Who else comes with him?" he demanded.

"I do not know. They come and go so quickly."

Guy fumed inside. Ever since Marian's father's death and her disappearance, he was tortured by thoughts of her joining Hood's gang. He needed to know if Marian had ever appeared in Locksley, helping Hood. This wench was of little help, but she might lead him to someone else in the village who knew more.

"He has needs," Guy told her. "What village lass, or lasses, did he favor, before he went to war?"

"He were good and kind to all, Sir Guy."

"Stop being stupid! I mean, which women did he sleep with?"

"I do not know. None of us, I am sure. He were dedicated to Lady Marian, sir. And Master Robin, he would not...he protected us, sir."

"How very noble," Gisbourne sneered. Shifting his thoughts to Marian, he asked, painfully, "What were they like, together...Hood and Lady Marian?"

She smiled again, remembering. "They were so cute, sir."

"Cute?"

"Aye, sir. They adored each other, right from the start...childhood sweethearts. She were a sweet, proper little lady, yet she'd follow him everywhere, trying to keep up with him."

"Did she?" Gisbourne sneered. This was not what he wanted to hear. If she'd followed him then, had she followed him now?

"And they grew up, both of them so beautiful to look at, and both so kind," the laundress continued. "We all looked forward to their wedding."

Gisbourne seethed inside. The memory of his own wedding to Marian still rankled. "He must have taken his pleasure off someone," he snarled. It couldn't have been Marian. That thought was impossible. And then, he had an inspiration. If Hood hadn't taken what he wanted from his village, then he must have paid for it at the tavern in Nottingham.

He thought of the wenches working there. The saucy, pretty blond who had helped him as a go between with Allan early on was unlikely. Gisbourne had enjoyed her services himself, and he believed her loyal. But there was another blond...a stupid, plump one the guards seemed to favor. There had been rumors she had somehow been involved in Hood's most recent escape.

What did she know about who else was helping Hood? If Marian was involved, this tavern wench would tell him. And if she wouldn't talk... no problem. He had ways to make her tell him everything.